Mumbai Weekly

Run by the students of Udaan

MumbaiWeekly Volume 01 Issue 15

MONDAY, 21 MAY 2012

people

arts

feature

sports

City monorail project to be operational by year end

Monorail rakes undergo a trial run in Mumbai on 14 May 2012 (above & right) . The Chembur - Wadala segment, in the central suburbs is expected to be fully operational by the end of this year. Pratham Gokhale / Mumbai Weekly

The much anticipated monorail service in Mumbai is slowly taking shape. Another successful trial run was held on the Wadala Chembur segment in the Central Suburbs of the City. The Monorail is pegged to reduce the traffic on the already overloaded suburban train network and increase speed of travel especially in the „eastwest‟ corridor of the

city. The project has been delayed by almost 18 months, however the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has claimed that the country‟s first monorail service, between Wadala and Chembur, will be commercially operational by the end of the year . This might be still doubtful as authorities have not yet received

safety clearances for the monorail to be used as public transit. Unavailability of underground facitily maps like water pipes, power cables etc, alignment with other existing infrastructure projects and passage through densely populated were some of the challenges thrown at the project causing the delay.

AI pilots strike cost airline over 200 crores The Air India pilot strike has completed eleven days today causing an estimated loss of over 200 crores to the national carrier.

Trouble started for the airline May 8 when pilot-members of the Indian Pilot Guild (IPG) took mass sick leave, protesting the move to provide Boeing-787 Dreamliner training to pilots from the erstwhile Indian Airlines. A single Judge bench had earlier termed the strike as „illegal‟ and restrained pilots

from continuing this strike.

Withstanding the order the pilots continued their agitation and hardened their stand when the government began sacking defaulting pilots. All talks between the government and IPG have failed to date but efforts are still on to find a solution. An Air force board will now conduct tests on the ‟sick‟ pilots to confirm the authenticity of the illness.

People stand around a parked Air India aircraft in Mumbai on 10 May 2012. A strike called by pilots forced the airline to cancel a number of flights leaving passengers stranded at the airport.

Shailesh Andrade / Mumbai Weekly More images and report on page 3

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PEOPLE

MONDAY, 21 May 2012

Mumbai Weekly

A man suspends himself from a crane by inserting metal hooks through his skin as an act of devotion to the Hindu goddess Maha Mariamman.

Driven by Faith

A woman falls into a trance during rituals to the Hindu goddess Maha Mariamman in Mumbai on 9 May 2012.

Mumbai Weekly Photographer Shailesh Andrade followed a procession on the streets of Mumbai dedicated to the Hindu goddess Maha Mariamman.

Preparation for the festival begins a month in advance.

During this time all participants spend time in prayer and abstain from meat, alcohol and profanity. The procession begins with the beating of drums and chants during which the participants fall into a trance. As an act of

A boy gets pierced with a steel rod through his cheeks as an act of devotion to the Hindu goddess Maha Mariamman

Metal hooks inserted into the back of a devotee

faith, participants pierce their cheeks or tongues with metal rods. Some participants pull heavy objects like vehicles, carts or auto rickshaws tied to metal hooks pierced through their body.

This particular procession started in Khar, a suburb in Mumbai at 10AM and wound its way over 5kms through traffic in temperatures exceeding 35 degree celcius concluding at 4PM.

A devotee prays to the Hindu goddess Maha Mariamman

A person lubricates a metal rod being inserted into the cheek of a devotee to the Hindu goddess Maha Mariamman in Mumbai by spitting milk.

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MONDAY, 21 May 2012

metro

Mumbai Weekly

Air India pilots strike affects passengers

Above: Passengers travelling aboard Air India sit outside the Mumbai airport on 10 May 2012. A strike by Air India pilots left hundreds of people stranded outside the airport as airline officials were forced to cancel flights. Shailesh Andrade / Mumbai Weekly Left: Gangadhar Shetye sleeps outside the Mumbai Airport on 9 May 2012 after his Air India flight was indefinitely cancelled. He was due to report for work in Doha, Qatar on 10 May 2012 and now faces action from his employer for reporting late. Shailesh Andrade / Mumbai Weekly The ongoing Air India pilots strike has affected hundreds of passengers due to indefinite cancellations of flights by the Airline. Worst of the passengers affected are those flying to the Middle East countries either on work or on a pilgrimage.

The scenes outside the airport remained chaotic as airline officials could not confirm departure schedules for these flights. A lot of passengers flying on these flights have come from towns neighbouring Mumbai and have nowhere to go.

Passengers alleged that the airline authorities have provided them with no facilities forcing them to camp outside the airport, living on airport trolleys waiting for some news. Even passengers from Mumbai couldn‟t go home as the airline couldn‟t give a departure schedule.

Food and water are sold at a premi-

State run hospital blood bank shut

um at the airport and most of the passengers are also running out of money. Mumbai Weekly learnt that many passengers have been camping outside the airport for even as much as three days waiting for their flight schedule. Most of the passengers are workers on contract with middle east companies, they now fear action been taken against them as they will be reporting late to work. Scenes at the airport remained chaotic as irate passengers demanded some confirmations about their flights at the airport.

Flights continue to remain indefinitely cancelled as there has been no breakthrough between the striking pilots and the aviation ministry, until a solution is reached passengers booked aboard Air India will continue facing the brunt of this stand off.

Supreme Court directs govt to abolish Haj Subsidy

A man stands outside the Sion Hospital blood bank in Mumbai on12 May 2012.

Shankar Narayan / Mumbai Weekly The state government on Thursday upheld the Food and Drug Administration‟s (FDA) decision to suspend the licence of Sion Hospital‟s blood bank in Mumbai. Inspections were carried out after a cancer patient died at Sion hospital in November. It was found that she had been given

A+ blood when her blood group was B+. A team from the FDA inspected the functioning of the blood bank and found many procedures and systems lacking. The suspension has caused many surgeries to be rescheduled or cancelled due to unavailability of blood.

Muslim men offer prayers on a street in Mumbai on 10 May 2012. Shailesh Andrade / Mumbai Weekly The Supreme Court has directed the Union government to progressively reduce the amount on Haj subsidy so that the bounty is completely eliminated within 10 years. The court said the government should instead use the money for social and educational development of Muslims.

The court said a large number of

Muslims would not be comfortable to know that their pilgrimage is funded to a substantial extent by the government. Union law minister Salman Khurshid said the government is working on the issue in the same direction. “The issue of Haj subsidy has been under consideration for the last four years and discussions on

rolling back the subsidy also took place,” he said.

The court order came after lawsuits were filed by the Union government and private tour operators (PTOs) in Maharashtra, raising concerns about a Bombay high court judgment on the eligibility to register a PTO for arranging a pilgrimage to Jeddah.

A bench of justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana Prakash Desai also asked the Haj committees of Maharashtra, Kerala and Karnataka to file their response regarding the criteria for selecting pilgrims. Muslim clerics and other leaders have welcomed this decision and have suggested reforms.

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EDITORIAL

MONDAY, 21 May 2012

Mumbai Weekly

POINT OF VIEW: Knowing the feminine energy

A woman holds a girl child during a Hindu ritual ceremony in Mumbai on 13 Mat 2012. Chirag Sutar / Mumbai Weekly The first episode was dedicated to female feoticide - a practice in which the sex of a child is determined while it is still in the womb, and if Chiraag Sutar it turns out to be a girl Last week, like everychild, the feotus is reone else, I too was keen moved. Sadly, a lot of on watching Satyamev Indian families have an Jayate - mainly because unexplained preference actor Aamir Khan had- for boys over girls. n't revealed much about While the episode highthe content of his debut lighted the grave issue show until it was aired. of female feoticide, it

has also highlighted our ignorance towards our own culture and spiritual teachings that enthrones women in the highest seat. It is an irony that we we have a society that celebrates nine days of fast in the name of different goddess' and also kills a girl child in the womb.

Doesn't this show that ours is a hypocritical society? And the one

that practices religion without understanding its esoteric meanings?

Hinduism, very clearly, breaks down the existence of this cosmos in two main principles– Shiva and Shakti or matter and energy. Matter is believed to represent the masculine principle, while energy is the feminine principle.

It's this 'energy' or 'shakti' which enlivens

the 'matter' or 'shiva' principle. A very popular saying in the eastern spiritual literature explains, 'Shiva is shava without shakti' - which means - without the feminine energy, shiva, the all pervading matter, is lifeless - this is how seers have defined feminine energy and its role in sustainance of this universe.

If we apply the essence

of this saying to the female feoticide issue, it's easy to understand that any kind of imbalance of the feminine energy will eventually effect the existence of masculine energy in long term. First the disproportionate female per male ratio will have its affect on human race. Second there are high chances that atrocities against women will

increase even more as it is likely to be a futile male dominated soceity And Third such a situation may even give rise to unnatural sexual orientations and eventually collapse the natural order of birth and death cycle. If that happens, the masculine principle of this universe will cease to exist, and as the saying explains, shiva will become

'shava'.

But lets forget all this if it's to hard to remember.

To put it simply "Behind every sucessful man, there is a woman" - even at the cosmic scale!

The above views are the personal views expressed by the author.

OPINION: Patents or Patients, pharma firms have to choose Shailesh Andrade

A lab technician works in a pharmaceutical company in Mumbai. Shailesh Andrade / Mumbai Weekly

the availability of newer products and at the same time affect new research. Private pharmaceutical companies spend billions of dollars annually on research for new drugs which help governments find solutions to newer diseases.

At the same time cure to most of the un-tackled diseases that are major killers predominantly are required in developing countries where people cannot afford over priced drugs. While the Indian government is justified in forcing compulsory license in an attempt to reduce the price of an essential drug it also has the responsibility to open up some other opportunities for pharmaceutical companies to make a legitimate profit. In my opinion pharmaceutical companies and governments should work as partners, working towards providing cure solutions at an affordable price at the same time making a profit that is realistic.

Can there be a balance between patents and patients?

Pharmaceutical companies for now will have to come to terms to the realities of the changing world. Every drug should be priced effectively making it accessible and affordable to the people who most need them.

In March, Natco was granted India's first Compulsory License and has since been preparing to launch its cut-price versions of Bayer's kidney cancer treatment sorafenib (branded Nexavar) at a pre-set price of Rs. 8,800 for a month's treatment (Nexavar costs Rs 2.8 lakhs as per market rate). The country's first ever compulsory licensing approval had significant upsides for consumers , especially the poor since it would open up the field for other generic companies to tap this route , thus forcing MNCs to rethink their pricing strategies for India and other developing countries . Significantly , this would lead to lowering in exorbitant prices of lifesaving cancer drug and HIV drugs.

While people welcomed the decision to make life saving drugs accessible to all, the industry did not take to the decision well, Bayer has sought to fight this decision in court. Has India jumped the gun by imposing compulsory license? It is an issue that deserves careful consideraThe above views are the pertion. A jurisdictive decision sonal views expressed by the like this might possibly affect author.

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FEATURE

MONDAY, 21 May 2012

A street „art gallery‟ Tucked in between the busy Hill Road and Lilavati hospital of Bandra in Suburban Mumbai is a lane lost in time. Chapel Lane is a narrow winding lane, lined with old bungalows and fading breaking down walls. This

sleepy laid back lane has become a haven for graffiti and other artists to showcase their work converting it into virtually a „street art gallery‟ . Most of the work painted here is by students and foreign travellers in an effort to

spread the graffiti culture. Graffiti painting forms an important part of the ‟hip hop‟ lifestyle which is gaining popularity in the city.

Mumbai Weekly photographer Shailesh Andrade took a walk down this road soaking

in the diversity of expression through art, intertwined with the aroma of cooking food and the sound of country music coming from the homes on a lazy afternoon. Shown here are some of the art work around this lane.

Mumbai Weekly

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Business

MONDAY, 21 May 2012

Mumbai Weekly

Jet fuel prices reduced

Aircraft get ready for take off at the Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai. Shailesh Andrade / Mumbai Weekly State-owned oil companies reduced jet fuel prices by a marginal Rs 312 per kilolitre or kl, the second reduction in rates this month. The price of aviation turbine fuel (ATF), or jet fuel in Mumbai, will cost Rs 68,306.21 per kl against Rs 68,630.93 per kl now. According to aviation industry experts, jet fuel constitutes over 40 per cent of an airline's operating cost and the marginal reduction in prices will somewhat ease the burden of the cash-strapped airlines.

Viacom 18 posts fourth quarter loss

Rupee slides to all time low

A man walks past the Viacom office in Mumbai on 11 May 2012. Shailesh Andrade / Mumbai Weekly

Viacom18, the joint venture between Network18 Group and Viacom, has posted a fourth straight quarterly loss as its operating expenses surged 185 per cent, mainly on account of discontinued operations - deferment of the Hindi movie channel and TIFC. The Ebitda loss stood at Rs

116 million, compared to a profit of Rs 204 million a year ago.

Viacom18 clarified that one-time losses amounting to Rs 477 million in Q4 were incurred with respect to the discontinued operations - deferment of the Hindi movie channel and TIFC, while Rs 294 million was incurred

with respect to costs towards the new channels – Sonic, Comedy Central and Colors HD. For the full fiscal ended 31 March 2012, the net loss stood at Rs 1.13 billion, from a net profit of Rs 851 million in the earlier year. Operating revenue stood at Rs 15.84 billion (from Rs 11.04 billion), while

expenses were at Rs 16.97 billion (from Rs 9.85 billion).

Viacom18 said that the fourth quarter and full fiscal numbers have been subjected to limited review by the auditors and segmental numbers are on a proforma basis.

A parking attendant counts money in Mumbai on 10 May 2012. Shailesh Andrade / Mumbai Weekly The Rupee slid to an all time low against the dollar and currently stands at 54.91/dollar .

According to experts High current account deficit, at 4% of the GDP, Slowing foreign

inflows via equity markets, India running a large trade deficit, owing to high oil & gold

Suzuki Motor Corp recalls 100000 Swift hatchback vehicles Suzuki Motor Corp has announced that the company will need to recall about 1,09,000 units of Swift hatchback worldwide due to defects which may lead to fuel spillage.

This recall is however unlikely to affect Indian customers in a statement made by Maruti Suzuki India Limited. Suzuki Motor Corp had announced that all Swift hatchbacks produced between September 2010 and April 2012 could have slight defects in its engine which needed to be rectified so as to avoid fuel spillage.

Most of these recalls will affect vehicles in Japan as out of total recalls 55,146 units were sold in Japanese markets while 53,801 units were exported to countries such as Mexico, Australia and other European countries.

Defects were deciphered in the rubber fuel filler hose that may cause petrol leakage. Four such cases have been brought to company attention in Japan though it did not lead to any major calamities. The vehicle continues to be one of the leading cars in Mumbai.

A man drives a Maruti Swift in Mumbai on 9 May 2012. Shailesh Andrade / Mumbai Weekly

import bill are some of the reasons that have triggered the weakening of the Rupee.

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Arts & entertainment

MONDAY, 21 May 2012

Mumbai Weekly

Classical dance evening by the sea

Indian classical dancers perform during „Marico Evenings‟, a dance festival , along the sea in suburban Mumbai on 13 May 2012. „Marico Evenings‟ is a festival of dance and music organized periodically in association with the residents of the area. On Sunday the students of the Nateshwar Nritya Kala Mandir performed in front of a packed house.

Mumbai weekly photographer Shailesh Andrade was there to capture the graceful movements marked with the sounds of „ghungroos‟ and choreography that made for a perfect evening.

European culture comes to Mumbai‟s Slums A four day interactive workshop was held in Mumbai from 9 to 12 May 2012 to celebrate Europe Day. Themed around „Urban & Popular Culture‟ the festival flew in various artists to share the hip hop culture which is popular in Europe but relatively unknown in India. One such workshop was conducted for the children of Dharavi, one of the largest slums in Mumbai. These underprivileged children had the good fortune to interact and learn from the experts from the fields of break dancing, beat boxing and rapping. DJ Uri (UK) talking to Mumbai Weekly said “Dance gives these children a sense of pride and belonging. It helps them focus their energy on creative ways and above all will keep them off the streets”. The children participating are already part of „Dharavi Rocks‟ an initiative that has formed these boys into a band making music from waste plastic like buckets and storage drums. It was a fun but informative evening for the boys who learnt Europe‟s latest dance moves.

Navid aka BBoy Spaghetti, a Norwegian national, teaches boys from a slum in Mumbai „hip hop‟ dance moves on 9 May 2012.

Shailesh Andrade / Mumbai Weekly

Mumbaikar‟s say “Thank you MOM”

Left: Actress Dia Mirza poses with her mother in Mumbai on 11 May 2012. Above: A child touches a hot air lantern with a message written on it.

Right: Actress Prachi Desai hugs her mother during an event held to thank mothers on ‟Mothers Day‟ Shailesh Andrade / Mumbai Weekly

An event was held on the sea front in Bandra, Mumbai to celebrate Mothers Day on 11 May 2012. People were invited to say „thank you‟ to their mothers in three unique ways. A live radio station was installed where guests could thank their mothers on air. A video booth recorded and streamed messages online of people thanking their mothers. But the most unique was people writing promises and

thank you notes on hot air lanterns and releasing them into the sky. The event wore a festive look with a live choir singing popular songs themed around mothers. Stars of the event, Dia Mirza and Prachi Desai added glitz and glamour to a fantastic evening and shared stories with the crowd about their mothers. They too released hot air lanterns thanking their mothers thus concluding the proceedings.

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Sports

MONDAY, 21 May 2012

Mumbai Weekly

Mumbai‟s Narsingh Yadav qualifies for Olympics

Above: Wrestler Narsingh Yadav works out at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) complex in Mumbai. Narsingh Yadav is the first athlete from Mumbai and the fifth wrestler form India to qualify for the 2012 London Olympic games. Shailesh Andrade / Mumbai Weekly India‟s hope for an Olympic medal in the 2012 London games could now be possible through Mumbai based wrestler Narsingh Yadav. The youngster qualified for the biggest tournament of his life by winning a tournament in Helsinki on 4 May 2012. Yadav will be the fifth wrestler and

first Mumbaikar to qualify for the 2012 games.

It‟s a heartwarming and very inspiring story of hardwork over circumstance. Yadav was born to a humble family that sold milk in the suburbs of Mumbai. His training started in akhara’s India‟s traditional mud wrestling pits at the age of 10

years and he began formal training under Sports Authority of India Coach Jagmal Singh in Mumbai at the age of twelve. A media shy Yadav told Mumbai Weekly that there is no short cut to success except hard work, practice and a fixed focus towards the end goal.

Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan met wrestler Narsingh Yadav at Mantralaya along with sports minister Padmakar Walvi. Chavan reiterated his promise of a Class I officer's job for Yadav and also announced a sum of Rs 15 lakh to fund his preparations for the Olympic Games.

Free style football comes to Mumbai

A boy displays his freestyle football skills in Mumbai 12 May 2012. Freestyle football, is the art of expressing yourself with a football, while performing various tricks with any part of the body.

Freestyle football has existed since the early 1900s, but it has seen a surge in popularity as a result of global advertising campaigns and digital media sharing. Shailesh Andrade / Mumbai Weekly

Published by: Udaan School of Photography. Editor: Shailesh Andrade Email: editor.mumbaiweekly@gmail.com